Stronger Than Desire
by The Resident Vampyr
Summary: Buffy reveals to Dawn her true identity while Spike helps Dawn from being kidnapped by Glory's minion Dreg. Also in this short fiction, Dawn learns about Spike's intentions for her sister; as Buffy and Spike searches for Glory's mansion.


A Buffy & Spike fiction | Stronger Than Desire

Title: **STRONGER THAN DESIRE**  
Synopsis: Buffy reveals to Dawn her true identity while Spike helps Dawn from being kidnapped by Glory's minion Dreg. Also in this episode, Dawn learns about Spike's intentions for her sister; as Buffy and Spike searches for Glory's mansion.   
Note: This short story is the second of 5 on a series of fiction called 'the Vampyr Pentateuch' starting with '[][1]Against One'. Based on S5 BtVS plot before all the hoopla, twists, and turns...this is how I envisioned it at the time I wrote this fic :)   
Date: Wednesday, 27 December, 2000 : 09:20:07 PM  
Written by: [][2]The Resident Web Vampyr © 2000.  
Credits: [][3]See here.  
Characters in play: Buffy Xander Willow Anya Dawn Tara Glory Ben Dreg Spike Giles  
  
  
  
p a r t o n e  
  
Inside Glory's mansion she and her brother, Ben, sat staring at each other. Their servant, Dreg, watched closely.  
  
"Tell me dear brother. Do you know anything about the last demon that was summoned in Sunnydale?"  
  
Ben looked away and didn't say anything. He knew he couldn't lie to Glory. And it's wrong, dead wrong to think that he could just take away a life, even if it's as evil as Glory. He looked back at her. Glory was his sister, no matter what. Maybe she will agree to the spell if it's just temporary. Yes, the spell that could cure her headaches.   
  
"Okay, if that's how you wanna play it, I will forget everything that has happened these past few weeks. Glory got up from her seat and started pacing the room. I'm your sister and I plan to keep it that way...unless you do something that's absolutely stupid again."   
  
_See, she's not that bad after all, she's willing to forget everything. But in return for what?_ Ben thought.  
  
"Since you're fairly good at summoning demons and you have a gift for spells, I want you to do me a favor by sharing your talent with our good boy Dreg here who voluntarily placed himself in a position of finding the key for me. Dreg looked at Ben and nodded his head slowly  
  
"Why don't you do the spell yourself?" asked Ben.  
  
"I did! Don't you remember, you blind moron!" her head was spinning again from a headache. "That damned little snake failed me! Now, if you could do that to Dreg, maybe we're home free! And maybe I won't have this splitting headache!"  
  
Ben realized that finding the key and opening the door was not the answer. But what if Glory's right. What if it's the only way to fix her head. They've been searching for that energy for almost their entire lives. They stumbled upon it once, yet they always seemed to fail to get a hold of it.  
  
"So, what about it?" asked Glory, wickedly rubbing her hands together.  
  
  
  
p a r t t w o  
  
Buffy was searching for the Dagon Sphere she had left in Dawn's room last night right before she performed the de-invited spell for Spike. She was on hiatus from the Scooby Gang, and had been for weeks now. She purposely avoided them at the Magic Box, and even at school. The Scoobies noticed the change in Buffy ever since she was possessed by the Wraith demon and right after her break-up with Riley. Her temper always got the better of her, and her bubbly effervescence was gone. They asked her on several occasions if she needed help with patrolling, but she always declined. Being her friends, they understood that Buffy needed time and space to process what she was feeling. She'd been through a lot lately, and even though it wasn't an excuse for avoiding them, they still supported her no matter what.  
  
Right now, she was determined to find out where the Dagon Sphere was. She remembered placing it under Dawn's bed, but it wasn't there anymore.  
  
"Are you looking for this?" asked Dawn, who was standing behind her holding the Sphere.  
  
"Yes. I misplaced it the other day," Buffy answered defensively. "I thought I placed it in my bag but it probably rolled out," Buffy mentally groaned. What kind of excuse was that? she thought. She attempted to grab the orb from Dawn's hands.  
  
"Uh-uh, not unless you tell me what it is," teased Dawn.  
  
"Don't be such pain in the ass Dawn." Buffy reached out and took it away from her. "This is not something you can play with."  
  
"So, what is it?" asked Dawn.  
  
"Where did you find it?" demanded Buffy.  
  
"I asked you first," Dawn replied, getting a sharp look from her sister. She realized that Buffy would not tolerate anymore protesting from her. "Ok, I was sleeping last night and I thought I heard something moving under my bed. I looked under and there it was," Dawn explained "So, what is it?"  
  
"It's called the Dagon Sphere." Buffy finally told her. "It's used as a protection from certain evil."  
  
"Evil? Like the demon that attacked you?"  
  
Buffy suddenly realized that the Dagon Sphere must have caused the destruction of the Wraith demon. She looked at Dawn and put the pieces together. Buffy said, "Where were you when that evil demon attacked me?"  
  
"In your room, I-I was...praying that you be saved from that-- that-- thing," said Dawn, a bit frightened as she remembered how the demon started draining Buffy away. It had been the most frightening moment of her life. Dawn started to get teary-eyed.  
  
"I'm sorry if I upset you," Buffy said, wanting so much to tell Dawn about being the key and her connection with the demon's destruction. "Dawn, I have to tell you something."   
  
Dawn looked at Buffy, worried.  
  
"Promise me you'll be brave enough to hear what I have to say, okay?"   
  
Dawn nodded.  
  
  
  
p a r t t h r e e  
  
Xander and Anya were sitting in a corner at The Bronze as Willow and Tara walked up to them. They had just come from the dance floor.  
  
"Didn't Buffy say she would come by around this time?" asked Willow.  
  
"I believed she said that, only I don't think she meant it," said Xander bluntly.  
  
"Why do you say that?" asked Willow.  
  
"I mean, if she really wanted to be here, she'd have shown up an hour ago. And since my hunch is correct, you owe me ten bucks," said Xander showing his hand to Willow, ready to accept his reward.  
  
"I'm serious," Willow insisted, a worried expression crossing her face. "Do you think she's still mooning over Riley?"  
  
"I don't think so," said Anya brightly. "See, if my boyfriend was cheating with a whore, a vampire whore no less, I'd be out of that relationship in a second. No wonder she trashed that vamp nest." She placed her hands on Xander's knee. "But luckily, I have my sweetie here, who couldn't care less for vampires."  
  
"Yeah, I have to agree, I only like my womendemon-like," Xander cuddled Anya.  
  
"Maybe Buffy just needs a little more time by herself," considered Tara.  
  
"And she's probably out patrolling and stuff," said Willow.  
  
"And patrolling without us lately," added Xander, reminding them all of how long it had been since they had helped Buffy.  
  
"We should give Buffy a break, she just needs to get that slayer instinct all pumped back up again, maybe a few kills," said Anya. "And it wouldn't hurt if she had a new man in her life," she stopped, then added "Actually, if I were Buffy, I'd look for a more mature man, someone who would understand my true nature, someone like..."  
  
*******  
  
Spike stood in front of Buffy's house, not smoking, but wanting to. He hadn't seen or talked to her in a couple of days now. He tried to follow her during one of her patrols but she was too stealthy for him. He wondered if it was part of the predatory nature of a slayer that she had developed. He knew that some of them were more of a hunter and a killer than just a slayer and a protector. He thought about paying Buffy a visit in her bedroom and telling her something, anything. He just wanted to see her.  
  
_I'd loose one of my body parts for sure, maybe two, if I get in there without a good reason, but I gotta do something, before I lose the privilege of entering her house_. Which he had, Spike thought, after Buffy used that de-invite spell on him during the Wraith demon debacle. But now everything was back to normal, and he could enter Buffy's house once again thanks to her kid sister.  
  
*******  
  
Dawn was visibly upset and speechless after hearing explanation of her origins. _She, wasn't real? Not a part of this family? But an energy? A thing? _She had doubts about what strangers are told her about not belonging to this world, but not this. Not some...thing! Buffy faced Dawn as they sat on the bed, and waited for her to say something. Instead, Dawn got up and walked away from her.   
  
"Dawn..." said Buffy, standing up.  
  
"I want to be alone please," said Dawn, on the verge of tears. She turned her face towards the window.  
  
"Dawn, we need to talk about this. It's not as bad as you think."   
  
"And mom, does she know about it, about me?" asked Dawn, still facing the window.  
  
Buffy let out a sigh, "Yes, she knows. But she doesn't know the details."  
  
"The details?" Dawn's voice shook. She turned around to face Buffy, full of mixed emotions. "The details that I'm not her daughter? Or the details that I'm a thing?!"  
  
"Look, I know you're freaked out, but we need to figure out how to stop this demon that's after you," Buffy had to convince Dawn that this was the right thing to concentrate on now. "I need to protect you, but I also need to know how to stop Glory," Buffy considered. "Dawn, you're still my sister, mom is still your mom. It doesn't change anything. It doesn't mean that you're not part of our lives."  
  
"And how do you figure that? You don't even know how I play out in this whole thing?" Dawn protested.  
  
"Dawn."  
  
"Please leave," pleaded Dawn.  
  
Buffy tried to reach out to her. "Da---"  
  
"J-Just leave..." Dawn said without looking at her. She couldn't look at her, not now, or anytime soon for that matter. She needed to be alone.  
  
Buffy left the room closing the door behind her, Dagon Sphere in hand. She understood what Dawn was going through, not knowing where you stand, and not knowing where to belong. She had a similar crisis when she found out she was the Slayer, back when.  
  
*******  
  
_When I was just a baby, I clearly remember mom singing me those lullabies_, Dawn recalled. _But why is it that I can't I remember being a keeper of the gate? What am I supposed to do? I don't even know how that Dagon Sphere works?_ An idea entered Dawn's mind. _Maybe Giles knows_.   
  
Dawn opened her window and quietly slipped out. She headed to the Magic Box to look for Giles, who would hopefully be able to explain this whole thing to her. Not far away, a shadow followed her.  
  
  
  
p a r t f o u r  
  
Dawn walked through the dark night and hugged herself to keep warm. It was overcast, making the sky look charcoal gray. There were no stars visible whatsoever, only a soft moonlight that hid in the trees. Dawn stopped. She thought she heard something rustling in the bushes to her left. She turned around. Nothing.   
  
She stood very still as her heart fluttered in her chest. She had lived in Sunnydale long enough to know that things really did go bump in the night. She turned around and began to trace her path back home. After a couple of steps, she heard it again. Only this time it was a few feet closer. She stopped, but before she could turn around to see, a demon attacked her.  
  
It was Dreg. Dawn screamed, but it was quickly muffled by a large hand over her mouth. She broke away and tried to run but Dreg was much faster than her. He caught her, throwing a sack over her head, and dragged her back towards the mansion.   
  
*******  
  
Thump! Something hit Dreg on the back. He fell hard. With her now free hands, Dawn ripped the sack off her head and turned to see who had rescued her. She couldn't quite recognize the dark figure in the shadows. He seemed familiar to her though. In fact, she might be able to tell who it was, if only he would step into the moonlight.   
  
"Are you okay?" the shadowy figure asked.  
  
"Uh-" Dawn gasped as he moved in closer. "You're -" Dawn started to say, but was interrupted.   
  
Dreg was on his feet, lunging at Dawn. Spike stepped forward and grabbed him around the neck. He held him until the other demon could hardly breathe. "Pu--leee-z--" gasped Dreg. Spike choked him even harder, then slowly released him. He wasn't sure why he did that, maybe it had to do with Dawn being there and not wanting her to witness him kill a demon. Or was he going soft? He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but he decided to let go of the demon. With one hand on his neck trying to breathe, Dreg ran off.  
  
"You're a -" Dawn was still recovering from the attack. Spike eyed her, making sure she was alright.  
  
"Spike. We've met," he said cautiously.  
  
"You saved me," Dawn didn't know how to react. He's the vampire who tried to get into their house, a vampire, an enemy, she thought, and yet he saved her.  
  
Spike pursed his lips agreeably, "I've been known to help a certain Summers every once in a while."  
  
"Buffy..." Dawn replied, thinking how Buffy would react if she knew what had happened and why she left the house in the middle of the night to look for answers.  
  
"Yeah, that sweet young slay--" Spike suddenly stopped. Dawn looked at him questioningly.  
  
"What I meant to say was, that crummy big sister of yours," he changed his tone of voice.  
  
"Are you going to bite me?" Dawn asked warily, not trusting the vampire in front of her.  
  
Spike chuckled, "I do recall telling you that I am a friend of your sister, but I may have forgotten to add that I'm a vampire without a bite. Satisfied?"  
  
"By the way," Spike changed the topic. "Shouldn't you be at home with your family instead of walking around here in the middle of the night, by yourself?"  
  
"You're right. I shouldn't be here talking to some stranger and getting kidnapped by another," Dawn said, finally deciding that this was not a good idea.  
  
*******  
  
Buffy was on the phone talking to Giles, who was in his apartment getting ready for bed. She told him how she revealed to Dawn the truth about her being the key. Giles was surprised that Buffy decided to tell her this soon, with no answers to their questions yet. He was still not finished reading through the manuscripts about the Dagon Sphere, or the Key, or with his research about Glory. He had been so busy lately with the shop. He needed help with the research, true, but he wasn't ready to tell Willow and the rest of the Scoobies about this. They needed more time, but time was not on their side.  
  
"Buffy, do you know what this means?" asked Giles.  
  
"I know," said Buffy. "And I'll be responsible for the consequences. I'll talk to her as soon as she's ready, but right now, we need to know where Glory is and what her plans are."  
  
*******  
  
Dreg came rushing inside Glory's mansion to tell her that he traced the key to a hideout. In fact, he had almost taken a hold of her, if it hadn't been for a pesky vampire.  
  
"A pesky vampire, eh?" said Glory curiously.  
  
"A nasty one too, but I think he lost the power to kill. He didn't even try finish me off," said Dreg.  
  
"Well, I will...if you don't bring the key here tonight!" warned Glory. "Yes, I want the key. How I would love to get a hold of that key and open the doors of hell... "  
  
  
  
p a r t f i v e

Spike decided to ensure Dawn's safety by walking back to her house with her. Dawn didn't really feel like she had a choice in the matter. Buffy would definitely kill her if she found out that somebody tried to abduct her. It was a good long walk from the park, and Dawn decided that a conversation with Spike wouldn't hurt. _Besides, he's Buffy's friend, right?_  
  
"So, how did you and Buffy meet?" started Dawn.  
  
Spike thought that it wouldn't hurt either to have a conversation with the sister of his current object of affection. In fact, it would be to his advantage to know more about Buffy. What better way to get it first hand than from her sister?   
  
Spike smiled. "Let me see, it was three years ago that I met her. She was dancing gracefully... with her long, blonde hair... those expressive eyes, and those arms..."   
Spike remembered fondly his first encounter with Buffy. She asked him who he was and his only response was to meet him on a Saturday so that he could kill her. Yes, kill her, the ultimate trophy, kill yet another slayer. Only this time, a different kind. A special kind. He'd never met a Slayer like her before. Full of passion, aggressiveness and darkness that was equal to his.   
  
The truce with Buffy two years ago was the turning point in their relationship. It didn't cross his mind at the time that they could work together as allies, and never imagined that it could turn into something more, something greater. Somehow his hatred for her had evolved into something stronger...stronger than obsession, stronger than desire. He still doesn't fully understand what Angel meant when he said "...to kill this girl, you have to love her..." All he knows right now is that he loves her and he doesn't want to kill her.  
  
"You mean to say, you've fought all these years, yet you haven't killed her and she never killed you?" asked Dawn "No offense," she quickly added.  
  
"Well, yeah," said Spike. Quite true in fact.  
  
"That's weird. I've never heard such a thing, well except if you're-- " Dawn paused. "Or you two...um," Dawn was getting an idea.  
  
"Well, I haven't given her any reasons to kill me, have I?" Spike changed the direction of the conversation. I am not going to give out every single detail of my love life, he thought. "Actually, that's not true. I have, on a lot of occasions," he considered.  
  
"Maybe, she sees you as a harmless thing...an object... a key..." Dawn's train of thought seemed to be lost.  
  
*******  
  
Dreg lurked in the background and followed the Key and the vampire. Glory had kicked him out of the mansion and warned him not to come back unless the Key was with him. He would do anything for Glory, he had served their family for centuries and this was his chance to prove himself to his master; that he was not only a slave but someone who should be treated with respect and dignity, and maybe even more. He followed them as they approached the Summers' home.  
  
  
  
p a r t s i x  
  
It had been hours since she had heard anything from Dawn's room. Maybe she's gone to sleep, Buffy thought. She decided to patrol for the night while she worked on resolving this thing with her sister. I'll probably stumble into something while patrolling, maybe find Glory's hide out. Buffy knocked on the door outside of Dawn's room. No answer. She's probably sleeping, Buffy thought. She was about to open the door when she heard noise at the front porch.   
  
*******  
  
Dawn is scaling the front wall of their house towards her opened window as Spike watched. He was about to leave when Buffy opened the front door door.  
  
"Spike!"   
  
Spike looked as if he'd been caught red-handed with his hand in the cookie jar. "Before you say anything, I didn't come to steal any of your stuff in your basement or your room, or....um" Spike babbled, unsure why he was so flustered.  
  
Buffy stared coldly, waiting for him to finish.  
  
"Look, I came here for a visit," Spike started over. "I-I just wanna know how you are. You got me worried on New Year's, you know?" Seeing her expressionless face, he changed the topic. "Did you know that there is a demon out loose that's been preying on small kids?" He looked up at Dawn's window to see if she'd already climbed inside.  
  
Buffy noticed his glance and looked in the same direction, curious as to what Spike was looking at. She saw Dawn's window, dimly lit from one of her bedroom lights. She looked back at Spike and decided that this might be a harmless visit after all.  
  
"Is there anything else?" asked Buffy.  
  
Spike shook his head. He noticed that Buffy was dressed for going on patrol. "Ok, a demon. How did you know about this?" asked Buffy.  
  
"Story travel fast for us vampires, you know that. If you want, I can show you where," he was pretty proud of himself.  
  
"Fine." Buffy said quietly.  
  
*******  
  
Dawn finally reached her open window and started to climb in. She closed it after her and saw her sister with her vampire friend in the front yard. She could hardly hear what they were saying, but it looked as though they are getting along. Well, almost. He seemed to be diverting her attention to himself, but her sister looked unconvinced. There was something else she noticed. Spike looked concerned and worried as he spoke with her sister. His glances towards Buffy were almost pleading. She'd seen this expression many times, being a fan of such teen-oriented shows like _Dawson's Creek _and _Roswell_ and other angst-filled teen shows. Anyways, she had seen enough to know what his body language was saying, and _actions speak louder than words_, Dawn thought.  
  
Then Spike looked Dawn's way, checking to see if she was already inside. Dawn hid behind the curtains when Buffy looked up as well. After a moment or two, Dawn watched Buffy and Spike leave. She was glad that he didn't seem to have mentioned anything about her being outside that night. She kind of liked this vampire guy already, she smiled to herself.  
  
Dawn turned away from the window after making sure Buffy and the vampire already left. She was about to change into pajamas and get ready to sleep when something from behind grabbed her and covered her mouth. She couldn't even scream.  
  
  
  
p a r t s e v e n  
  
Buffy and Spike carefully searched the park where Spike had seen the demon. Buffy couldn't believe she followed him again in search of a demon that could be just a figment of his imagination.  
  
"Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Buffy.  
  
"Yes. I'm pretty sure this is the spot." Spike knew that this was indeed the place where he saw the demon that dragged Dawn.  
  
"And you know this because?" trailed Buffy.  
  
"Because...I was here, I saw him attack some kid."  
  
"Some kid that's walking alone at night, in the middle of nowhere," said Buffy. It was more of a statement than a question.  
  
"Well, um, yeah," Spike didn't want to say exactly what happened because that meant ratting out Dawn.  
  
"And you did nothing?"  
  
"No, I helped the kid, and I scared the hell out of the demon," said Spike, unable to keep the pride out of his voice.  
  
"You helped the kid, out of the goodness of your heart, but you didn't kill the demon. Is that right?" Buffy asked, unconvinced.  
  
"That's what happened, Spike nodded affirmatively.  
  
_This is getting nowhere_, thought Buffy. "Let's assume what you're telling me is correct. What happened after that?"  
  
"Well, I left."  
  
"You left," Buffy repeated his answer. "You mean to tell me that after saving a kid's life from a demon, whom you allowed to get away, because you're not the kind of a person who enjoys killing demons for fun, that you just walked away?"  
  
"If you put it that way, yeah," agreed Spike.  
  
"Uh-huh, and you actually think I'm going to believe that crap? You could've done better than that Spike," Buffy was exasperated.  
  
"Wait! Do you think I'm lying to you? Tell me, how many times did I lie to you in--" Spike stopped himself short. _His mistake, he'd always been bad right? Maybe, but not recently_, he thought. "--in thein the couple of weeks that I've been helping you?"  
  
"N-never," reflected Buffy. "But perhaps you have some ulterior motive for bringing me here."  
  
Spike held his hands palm up in a gesture of innocence, "No motives on my part. Pfft. I just wanted to help you, Buffy," said Spike seriously.  
  
Buffy looked at him, and was startled to realize that he was telling the truth. She looked around once more but was convinced there wasn't anything to investigate. She decided to leave. "Look, I'm out of here."  
  
She turned on her heel and left, failing to notice the huge mansion up the hill from the park, right behind her. Spike was left standing alone, facing a huge wall a few meters in front of him. He looked up, but he could not see what was up there.  
  
"Bugger," Spike sighed and walked away.  
  
*******  
  
Up in the park, a huge mansion stands. Glory's mansion. Inside, Glory was wearing a bright plum colored dress that she picked up earlier that day. It was a new favorite. She was talking to her twin brother Ben, excitedly telling him that Dreg has a good news to share.  
  
Dreg had been waiting for this moment. This time he captured the one true thing that his master was searching for.  
  
"My lady, I present to you," Dreg made it short and simple. "The Key."  
  
He dragged a fully chained Dawn into the room. Ben took one look and inhaled sharply as he recognized her as the Buffy's sister. He couldn't believe that Dawn was the Key. He had always thought that it was an energy and not a human being. Dawn was past crying at this point, she was just making little sniffling noises. Glory approached her.  
  
"So, we finally meet," said Glory wickedly. "Again."  
  
Sheer terror overtook Dawn, for she had no idea what would happen next.  
  
  
  
t o b e c o n t i n u e d  
  
Next on the series, "[][4]**Glorious**." The third of the series from The Vampyr Pentateuch.   
  
Also by The Resident Web Vampyr e_X_posed (a LoneGunmen series), Against One, Stronger than Desire, Sweetness Follows, Glorious, No More, An Ode to Spike and Buffy, Checkpoint, Blood Lies, Crushed/I was made to crush you, I was made to love you too, The Bloody/Misere Mani, Forevermore/The Gnosis, Divine Intervention/Pure&Precious, Rough Love. Visit [][5]www.vampyrslayer.cjb.net for more.

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   [4]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=162039
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